Research on the Molecular Mechanism of Cognitive Differences Between Williams Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Starting soon

Conditions studied: Williams Syndrome, Autism Disorder

In brief

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, usually caused by microdeletions of approximately 26 genes in the long arm (7q11.23) region of chromosome 7. Children with this syndrome often exhibit distinctive facial features, mild to moderate intellectual disability, impaired spatial cognition, pronounced social extraversion, and relatively reserved language-expression characteristics. Although individuals with WS often demonstrate strong social interest and prosocial behaviors, significant deficiencies in abstract thinking, executive function, and visuospatial ability are frequently observed. At present, treatment for WS mainly focuses on behavioral intervention and educational rehabilitation, and clear molecular or pharmacological treatment methods remain limited. Due to the "opposite but related" social-cognitive profile observed in comparison with autism spectrum disorder, in-depth exploration of neural and molecular mechanisms underlying these differences has substantial scientific significance for understanding the biological basis of social-cognitive impairment.

Key facts

Study ID
NCT07509879
Run by
Qilu Hospital of Shandong University
People needed
75
Starts
2026-04-01
Expected to finish
2026-12-01
Last updated by the study team
2026-04-03

Who can join

Age: 3 and older, up to 12. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

Where it is running

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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